England would have as many as six players in the Lions’ Test team were I picking it today.

That’s how much progress they have made this season under head coach Stuart Lancaster.

Half-backs Ben Youngs and Owen Farrell have been outstanding - particularly Farrell, who to my mind is now level-pegging with Ireland’s Johnny Sexton.

So too have prop Dan Cole, back row Tom Wood and England’s new lock pairing of Joe Launchbury and Geoff Parling.

And yet, before I am accused of viewing my rugby through Red Rose-tinted glasses, let me say that looking ahead to Sunday’s Ireland-England match, I actually see more individual match winners on the home side.

England are a very good team, and getting better. They work brilliantly as a unit. But to win the biggest games of all - and this weekend’s fits into that category - you need individuals who are game breakers and changers.

This Ireland side is littered with them - from A to Zebo.

They roll off the tongue: Rory Best, Cian Healy, Jamie Heaslip and Sean O’Brien up front; Brian O’Driscoll, Rob Kearney, Sexton and Simon Zebo in the backs. Players of that quality make a real difference and, if I’m honest, at this stage I think the England team are short of that number.

That is not meant in any way as a slight against a fast-improving side, it is merely a measure of where in its development this England team is at present.

I’m not sure I would go that far. Scotland scrambled their defence well but their actual up-front defending wasn’t in-your-face. And when they had the ball there was no penetration, no pace, no real hard-edged direction.

On top form: England fly-half Owen Farrell (Image: AFP)

England played well enough but in the first half they lacked accuracy and their discipline, decision-making and cutting edge wasn’t where it was against New Zealand.

They got there after half-time but if you start slowly against Ireland in Dublin, as England discovered to their cost in 2011, by then it is too late.

To beat Ireland they have to make fewer mistakes as if they give away as much cheap possession as they did against Scotland the Irish will punish them.

They need to move the ball away from the breakdown quicker. Scotland didn’t come up very quickly at all. Their midfield defence was average at best. It is Ireland’s strength. Put simply, England are not going to get the time on the ball that they did a week ago.

When you play away from home in the Six Nations you’ve got to start smart. In boxing terms it’s got to be ‘guard up, pick your moment, make sure every punch counts’.

Weather the initial storm then regroup, adjust to what the opposition are all about, then start to exploit it. With the power and fitness they have, England can do that.

But get it even slightly wrong and the only team dreaming of a Grand Slam come Monday will be wearing green.

Best man for the job

Leadership material: Rory Best is an ideal candidate to lead the Lions, says Matt Dawson (Image: Getty)

The bookies make an Irishman favourite to captain the Lions this summer and I agree.

Where I differ is in the choice. Brian O’Driscoll leads the list but for my money the best man is 30-year-old Ulster hooker Rory Best.

The three major requirements for me of a Lions captain are that he is universally respected, guaranteed his place in the Test team - and a forward.

Best, in my opinion, ticks all three boxes.

I can understand why O’Driscoll is many people’s favourite, and not just because the next two on the list - Chris Robshaw and Sam Warburton - wear the same shirt.

He was skipper on my last Lions tour in 2005 and, despite his Test series being controversially ended after only a matter of minutes, he was excellent.

If anything he’s even more impressive behind the scenes than he is in public. Very much a cheeky, down-to-earth guy who enjoys a laugh with the boys.

I saw him as a player’s captain who did all the right things and the reason that tour was unsuccessful was not down to his captaincy, that’s for sure.

But history shows that successful Lions teams are captained by forwards as that is the area where games are won and lost. So, for me, Rory is Best.